Disney released the trailer today for their upcoming film John Carter. The highly anticipated trailer will make its big screen debut this weekend, prior to showings of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

The film, directed by Andrew Stanton, best known for his work on such Pixar films as Finding Nemo and Wall E, is a sci-fi action-adventure based on a classic novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The film’s cast includes Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton , Mark Strong ,Ciaran Hinds, Dominic West , James Purefoy, Daryl Sabara, Polly Walker, Bryan Cranston, Thomas Hayden Church, and Willem Dafoe.

Here is the official synopsis for the film, which makes its debut in theaters on March 9, 2012:

From Academy Award®–winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton comes John Carter — a sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars).

John Carter is based on a classic novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose highly imaginative adventures served as inspiration for many filmmakers, both past and present.

The film tells the story of war-weary, former military captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions amongst the inhabitants of the planet, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins).

In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.